The present invention is directed to an improved shoe sole assembly. More particularly, to a shoe sole assembly formed with a plurality of members disposed along the working surfaces of the sole assembly which act as energy absorbers.
The prior art is replete with illustrations employing various arrangements as part of the total shoe, be it as part of the inner sole or the outer outer sole structure, where means are joined with the shoe for accommodating the anatomical characteristics of the user so as to render walking and movement generally as favorably as possible depending upon the circumstances. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,033,313 (Wilson); 2,090,881 (Wilson), 2,627,676 (Hack) and 4,012,855 (Gardner); all employ some form of structure which is attached to a typical shoe usually at the outer surface of the sole or as an insole, to provide a cushioning effect to footwear.
The Wilson patent '2,033,313 has a tread portion with air between the tread and the upper surface of a sole or heel. Compressible columns are formed therebetween to provide a cushioning effect; whereas, Wilson '881 covers another embodiment employing a substrate for attachment to a sole surface, the substrate has connected on its surface air filled pockets, that depend therefrom, the axial extent of the pockets varying according to the sole curvature.
The Hack Pat. No. 2,627,676 which has a sole which is in the form of an undulating corrugated sole with air trapped within the corrugations providing a cushion when compressed. Gardner (U.S. Pat. No. 4,102,855) employs a sole surface with honeycomb arrangement of rectangular cross-section cavities over which is laid a series of compressible members to form a cushioning air pocket composite on the outer surface of the sole.
All of the aforementioned art while employing some form of structure as an adjunct to the basic sole structure, fail to provide a basis by which the shoe sole may be formed with shock absorbing characteristics free of the need to externally substantially build up the outer surface of a sole. This is especially true when employing sole profiles other than those which are relatively thin and generally uniform in thickness.
It has been common place in the manufacture of such prior art soles to employ multi-step manufacturing processes whereby the basic sole substrate is in some fashion adapted by cementing or in some way affixing thereto, various media for achieving the aforementioned results. In so doing, the costs become high and the ability to simply and efficiently manufacture a sole structure exhibiting favorable characteristics is not accomplished.
The approaches suggested in the prior art fail to provide the necessary structure for the inexpensive manufacture of shoe sole assemblies such as exemplified by the present invention, which are capable of being employed in diversly profiled soles and are particularly pleasing to the eye and can be acceptable for high fashion designer shoes.
While it is recognized that the prior art has endeavored to consider the problem of providing for a smoother and comfortable shoe through the use of various techniques for the dissipation of forces acting upon the anatomy during the movement of a user in his shoes; nonetheless, prior art approaches have failed to concern themselves with the ability to formulate a sole structure designed to accommodate in a precise fashion diverse show sole profile configurations particularly useful in the use of high fashion shoes. In particular, where for example, a wedge type platform shoe construction is called for, the prior art would teach the use of some type of media entirely to the outside surfaces of the sole conforming to the required profile. The highest portion occurring at the heel area of the sole would for example, have such members at maximum extension externally of the sole giving rise to problems concerning strength and shoe stability. The ability to use the inventive features as hereinafter described with sole shoe profile and configurations of any type and while exhibiting, stability, favorable energy absorbing characteristics, and extended wear is what the present invention is concerned with.
The use of resilient materials with memory in a fashion which enables the sole assembly to be formed in accordance with the present invention, is important in the design, operativeness and manufacture of shoe sole assemblies of the type covered by the present invention. Much evaluation of materials has been necessary since the structure according to the invention, must exhibit certain physical and mechanical properties which are repeatable over a long time span, enabling it to perform in a new and novel fashion.